Netanyahu Is the Pretext – Israel Is the Target
Do not fool yourself. Much of the opposition to Israel’s war against the Islamist terror axis—Iran and its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—is not primarily about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That explanation has become a convenient fig leaf, allowing critics to disguise something far more troubling: opposition to the existence of a sovereign Jewish state.
California Governor Gavin Newsom illustrates this contradiction perfectly. He claims to support the Israeli people but not the Netanyahu government. That is akin to claiming to be partially pregnant. Israelis elected that government to protect their security after decades of terrorism and, most recently, after the atrocities of October 7. To profess solidarity with Israel while condemning the very government elected by its citizens rings hollow.
Newsom is attempting an impossible balancing act—appealing to pro-Israel voters while simultaneously accommodating the Democratic Socialists of America and the growing anti-Zionist wing of his party. Oil and water do not mix. Neither do genuine support for Israel and accommodation of political movements that deny Israel’s legitimacy.
This refrain is echoed throughout the political left: “Our objection isn’t to Israel. It’s to Netanyahu.” The facts tell a vastly different story.
Within hours of Hamas’s massacre of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 250 others on October 7, 2023, celebrations erupted across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Demonstrations against Israel began before Israel had launched its military campaign in response to Hamas’s unprovoked attack on Israeli civilians.
That fact alone exposes the argument as false. There was no Israeli military strategy to criticize, no battlefield decisions to debate, and no Netanyahu policy to condemn. The outrage came before Israel responded. It was not about Netanyahu.
At the same time, well-funded and organized demonstrations spread across college campuses and major cities, where Jewish students were harassed, intimidated, and in some cases physically threatened. Protesters celebrated the “Palestinian resistance.” Chants of “From the river to the sea”—a phrase widely understood as a call for the elimination of Israel—echoed through universities and city streets. Synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers increased security as antisemitic incidents surged worldwide.
That sequence of events exposes hypocrisy. If Netanyahu were replaced tomorrow by a centrist, a left-wing prime minister, or the leader of a national unity government, would the anti-Israel demonstrations suddenly disappear? Would the boycotts end? Would those calling for Israel’s elimination suddenly embrace Jewish self-determination?
Of course not.
Israel is the world’s only Jewish state and the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, surrounded by a region dominated by Islamic states. Its critics readily accept more than 50 Muslim-majority nations, including over 20 Arab states, yet object to the existence of a single Jewish state in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
For those who insist, “It’s not Israel. It’s Netanyahu.” The slogan serves as a smokescreen—a rhetorical shield concealing a deeper hostility toward Jewish sovereignty. Replacing Netanyahu would change nothing. The demonstrations would continue. The boycotts would remain. The accusations would simply be redirected toward his successor.
That is the uncomfortable reality many refuse to acknowledge.
Netanyahu is the pretext.
Israel is the target.
